This document discusses the "Orange Your Neighborhood" movement initiated by the United Nations Women to raise awareness of and prompt action to end violence against women globally. It notes statistics on the prevalence of violence and abuse against women. The movement encourages people to show support by decorating their neighborhoods and spaces with the color orange. It provides examples of related events happening in different regions to engage communities and promote the campaign's messages through social media.

1. #OrangeURHood
By: Chikita Kodikal and Annu Sharma
This year has indeed been a remarkable year for change. Throughout this year, change has
manifested in several different forms, from having Malala Yousafzai, at merely seventeen
years of age, win the Nobel Peace Prize and the World’s Children’s Prize to Actress Emma
Watson deliver her speech on gender equality at the United Nations for the ‘HeforShe’
campaign. It has however also been an year of horrific attack on women across the world.
For Indians specifically, we witnessed the the Badaun Gang rape, where two girls aged 14
and 16 were brutally gang raped and more recently the attack on the business analyst by a
taxi diver. Now United Nations Women has initiated the ‘Orange Your Neighbourhood’
movement that seeks to raise awareness and prompt action to cease the worldwide scourge
of violence against women and girls.
Gender Inequality has been prevalent in society much before the invention of time and
neither women nor men are immune from it. The United Nations reported (on their website
[http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/in-focus/evaw]) that a staggering 1 in every 3 women
have endured some form of abuse, be it physical or sexual, mostly at the hands of their
partner; approximately 120 million girls have reportedly been coerced into intercourse or
other sexual acts at particular points in their lives; while 133 million women and girls have
undergone female genital mutilation. Earlier this year, Emma Watson, in her speech at the
United Nations, stated that at the impressionable age of fifteen she witnessed her ‘girlfriends

2. dropping out of their beloved sports teams, because they didn’t want to appear muscle-y’
and then at eighteen, ‘when her male friendswere unable to expresstheir feelings.’
Furthermore, she incited: “How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is
invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?”
So, how does this relate to ‘Orange your Neighbourhood’ you may ask? The ‘Orange Your
Neighbourhood’ is one such platform where we, the people, can galvanize change for both
the sexes, right here in Aotearoa, New Zealand. “We need this eye-catching colour
everywhere so that the message is loud and clear: we all need to work together to stop
violence against women and girls right now,”UN Women Executive Director Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka said, “We all need to work together to stop violence against women and
girls right now,” she added, “that includes men and boys standing up for what’s right and
working with us and the women’s movement to tackle gender inequality. We have to end
this universal violation of human rights.” I am Woman supports this cause in its endeavour
to empower every woman to live to her fullest potential. For us this is a campaign to align all
men and women to this cause and eventually help build a world where women can develop
and bloom uninhibitted.
One of the biggest events of the Latin American region is a marathon in Mexico City, the
result of a partnership between UN Women and TV Azteca, one of the region’s top media
groups. In Africa, among a series of creative initiatives, a film forum will be hosted in Uganda
screening stories focusing on the experiences of women’s lives, and a collaborative venture
with Talk Radio 702 in South Africa, will promote zero tolerance for gender-based
violence. In Asia-Pacific, public spaces in India will turn orange to promote awareness
among local communities, and youth champions in Cambodia will take anti-violence
messages online to galvanize action through social media. In the Arab States region, several
activities are planned, many with a special focus on violence against women in Gaza. High-
profile events in Eastern Europe and Central Asia include a series of awareness-raising
forums in Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244) on the violence that young
girls face in high schools, and more than 100 events in Kyrgyzstan engaging Members of
Parliament, government officials, donors, and civil society.
You too can be part of this change. To show your support for this cause share your photos,
thoughts and ideas showing how you orange your neighbourhood with the hastag
#orangeyourhood (www.facebook.com/womanunlimited) and #iamwoman on Facebook or
email us on iamwoman@xtra.co.nz
Follow the ‘Orange Your Neighbourhood’ movement at facebook.com/SayNO.UNiTE and
twitter.com/SayNO_UNiTE.